Western Hospitality: How to Exploit the NFL's Worst Division Against the Run

We all know by now: The AFC West is the weakest division in football against the run.

Now, how do we exploit that fact? I've taken a look at each of the four teams' schedules, to get an idea of which running backs are anxiously awaiting the opportunity to pad their season stats against the AFC West.

There is a way to quantify which backs have the best opportunities to succeed against this division. The Chargers are 18th, the Raiders 24th, the Broncos 29th, and the Chiefs 32nd against the run in the league.

Because of this, they will represent those numbers as points (Chargers = 18, etc.); the more points a team has, the more "Western hospitality" they can expect for the rest of the year.

The points do not take into account the rest of the team's schedule. Therefore, if a team has 98 points (the equivalent of playing the Chargers once, the Raiders twice, and the Chiefs once), then they have a very favorable AFC West-packed schedule.

However, if the other teams that they are facing are all in the top-10 in rush defense, you may want to consider landing a complementary back. More on those at a later date.

There are also a couple of special bonuses. If a team has an AFC West opponent in Week 16, it gets 10 more points, because a lot of leagues' championship week is 16. If a team has an AFC West opponent in Week 15, it gets five more because of the same logic. Conversely, if a team has an AFC West opponent in Week 17, it loses the full amount of points for that matchup (the Bengals are eliminated from this assessment because of this, as they play the Chiefs in Week 17 as their only AFC West matchup).

Let's get started.

16./17. Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers: 18 points

Both the Steelers and the Colts have one matchup against the Chargers in back-to-back weeks (11 and 12, respectively).

Another team that gets to face the Raiders, the Texans get the Silver and Black in Week 16.

Probable Beneficiaries: Steve Slaton, Ahman Green

11. New Orleans Saints: 50 points

Unfortunately, Reggie Bush misses a favorable matchup against the Chargers (in London) in Week Eight. He may or may not be back from his knee injury in time to face the Chiefs in Week 11, but if he is, you should get him in your lineup.

Probable Beneficiaries: Deuce McAllister, Aaron Stecker (Reggie Bush)

10. Denver Broncos: 56 points

This is why it's advantageous to be in a division that is so terrible against the run. The Broncos have two more intradivsion matchups this year host the Raiders and the Chiefs in Weeks 12 and 14, respectively.

The Panthers also have two matchups remaining against the AFC West. They travel to Oakland in Week 10 and play host to the Broncos in Week 15.

Probable Beneficiaries: Jonathan Stewart, DeAngelo Williams

8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 60 points

The Bucs actually have more AFC West opponents remaining on their schedule than do the Broncos. They're number eight on the list because their matchup with the Raiders is in Week 17, so if that's your championship week, they get an upgrade. They also host the Chargers in Week 16, and visit the Chiefs in Week Nine.

The Raiders have three intradivison matchups in three straight weeks, right in the thick of the fantasy playoff race and the fantasy playoffs. They visit the Broncos in Week 12, host the Chiefs in Week 13, and visit the Chargers in Week 14.

Now you know why I say don't bail on L.T. just yet. The Chargers jump in at No. 3, with two games remaining against the Chiefs (home in Week 10, away in Week 15) and a matchup in versus Oakland at home in Week 14. They also have a Week 17 date with the Broncos.